Sweden

Swedish taxi firm Taxi020 is promoting downloads of its booking app via NFC posters placed in 70 restaurants, bars and cafes in the cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg. Customers who tap the posters are taken to the app’s download page on Google Play or Windows Store and can then use it to obtain a fixed price quote from the taxi operator on their mobile phone. “The idea is to target people on their way home after a nice meal or drink out,” supplier Adfields’ Martin Kemeny told NFC World+.

Visa Inc is replacing its V.me digital wallet service with Visa Checkout, a new payment service that enables consumers in the US, Canada and Australia to pay for goods online, on any device, in “just… More

Upmarket Swedish dress shirt maker Four Levent is using NFC tags built into its garments to reward clients for referring new customers to its website. “NFC tags are cheap, durable and easy to add to our… More

Customers of Finnish hamburger chain Hesburger can today pay for food, connect their loyalty card and redeem offers using Swedish mobile wallet app SEQR. Developed by Seamless, the app is also now available in Finland for Windows Phone 8, as well as existing iPhone and Android platforms. The app is being launched in 120 restaurants and rolled out to the remaining 160 franchise outlets by the end of the year.

Swedish startup Fidesmo has developed a service that lets NFC phone owners replace multiple, physical transport passes with a single contactless card. New funds can be added to each service operator’s “card” on the go using… More

Swedish mobile payment specialist Seamless has partnered with Turkey’s Garanti Bank to launch its Seqr NFC and QR payments platform in Romania — and plans to launch the service in the UK later this year. Starting… More

Seqr does not require merchants to install new hardware and promises to cut transaction fees in half by bypassing the traditional payments networks. McDonald’s, Axfood and Kjell & Company have already adopted the system in Sweden. More

“We are still in the early days of NFC in Sweden and we are far from mass market when it comes to smartphone penetration,” technology provider Tapit’s Niklas Bakos told NFC World. “Yet, we are already seeing as much NFC tags as QR codes being used in our recent campaigns. Just imagine when the penetration of smartphones increases in Sweden; the potential for NFC is huge.” More

Leading Swedish retail chain ICA says it picked NFC for the rewards programme at its ICA To Go food store in Stockholm because it will appeal to the tech savvy, health-conscious city dwellers it wants to attract. More

4T Sverige, the joint venture company set up by Sweden’s four mobile network operators, is to launch a mobile payments service that works with 97% of current phones and also provides support for NFC. More

Swedish mobile operators Telia, Tele2, Telenor and 3 have formed a mobile payments joint venture. The new company plans to launch a mobile wallet by mid-2012 which will allow Swedes to pay for services such as public transportation and parking. All operators will offer the same product, making it easier for customers to switch providers.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has announced it will be issuing NFC stickers to frequent flyers from September 2011. The SAS Smart Pass stickers are to be provided to all EuroBonus Gold frequent fliers across Scandinavia with… More

Guests at the Clarion Hotel Stockholm said using an NFC-enabled phone to check in, enter their room and check out made their stay more pleasant, saved time and inspired them to use the service again. More

Payments processor Payex is installing a mobile payments system at a number of Swedish universities with more than 100,000 students, initially using NFC stickers but later moving to NFC phones, expected to enrol over the next six months. More